Sunday, April 28, 2013

The Lollipop War

The price in the U.S. is about 15 cents a pound higher than the price in the rest of the world. That costs Spangler Candy an additional $3 million a year.

The higher U.S. sugar price is spelled out in U.S. law. You can find it right here, in the latest version of the farm bill, which says the U.S. government shall guarantee a minimum price for sugar that is not to drop below 22.9 cents per pound.

Because of the higher price here, lots of candies that used to be made in the U.S. — Life Savers, candy canes — are now made overseas.